Forces of the Erotic

From ancient Greece to contemporary cultures, people have strived to make visible ¬ either explicitly or implicitly – their constructions of the erotic. The papers in this volume explore the myriad ways in which individuals and societies have created a notion of what constitutes the erotic. The articles chart the transgressive, transformative and voluptuous forces of the erotic by sampling literature, music, philosophy, theatre, and the visual arts. In the first section, the erotic is (re)defined through the lens of philosophy and posited as a passion of reason, a means to dream differently, as coitus, ergo sum and habitus interruptus. In the second section, the voluptuousness of the erotic, which some wish to censor, is analysed through and in photography, music and poetry. The final section examines the promiscuous minglings of the erotic that transgress time, media, and species.